In music, a villanella (; plural villanelle) is a form of light

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

secular vocal music which originated in Italy just before the middle of the 16th century. It first appeared in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, and influenced the later

canzonetta In music, a canzonetta (; pl. canzonette, canzonetti or canzonettas) is a popular Italian secular vocal composition that originated around 1560. Earlier versions were somewhat like a madrigal but lighter in style—but by the 18th century, especial ...

, and from there also influenced the

madrigal A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance music, Renaissance (15th–16th c.) and early Baroque music, Baroque (1600–1750) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The Polyphony, polyphoni ...

. The subject matter is generally rustic, comic, and often satirical; frequently the mannerisms of art music, such as the madrigal, are a subject of parody. The rhyme scheme of the verse in the earlier Neapolitan forms of the villanelle is usually abR abR abR ccR. The villanelle became one of the most popular forms of song in Italy around mid-century. The music of the early villanella (known as the canzone villanesca) is invariably for three unaccompanied voices. The first composers of villanelle were the Neapolitans

Giovanni Domenico da Nola Giovanni Domenico da Nola (also Nolla) (c. 1510–1520May 1592) was an Italian composer and poet of the Renaissance. He was born in the town of Nola, Italy. He was a founding member of the ''Accademia dei Sereni'' in 1546–1547, where he knew Lu ...

and

Giovan Tomaso di Maio Giovan Tomaso di Maio (also Majo, Mayo, c. 1490 - after 1548) was an Italian composer. His villanelle, like those of Giovanni Domenico da Nola Giovanni Domenico da Nola (also Nolla) (c. 1510–1520May 1592) was an Italian composer and poet of the ...

; later composers, no longer from Naples, included

Adrian Willaert Adrian Willaert ( – 7 December 1562) was a Flemish composer of High Renaissance music. Mainly active in Italy, he was the founder of the Venetian School. He was one of the most representative members of the generation of northern composers ...

Luca Marenzio Luca Marenzio (also Marentio; October 18, 1553 or 1554 – August 22, 1599) was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote some of the most famous examples of the fo ...

Adriano Banchieri Adriano Banchieri (Bologna, 3 September 1568 – Bologna, 1634) was an Italian composer, music theorist, organist and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna. Biography He wa ...

Orlande de Lassus Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palest ...

, and others.

References

Denis Arnold Denis Midgley Arnold (Sheffield, 15 December 1926 – Budapest, 28 April 1986) was a British musicologist. Biography After being employed in the extramural department of Queen's University, Belfast, he became a Lecturer in Music at the Univ ...

, "Vilanella", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', first edition, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

(London: Macmillan Publishers, 1980): 19:770–773. *

Gustave Reese Gustave Reese ( ; 29 November 1899 – 7 September 1977) was an American musicologist and teacher. Reese is known mainly for his work on medieval and Renaissance music, particularly with his two publications ''Music in the Middle Ages'' (1940) ...

, ''Music in the Renaissance'' (New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1954). * ''The New Harvard Dictionary of Music'', edited by Don Randel (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1986). * Donna G. Cardamone, ''The Canzone Villanesca alla Napolitane and Related Forms, 1537-1570'' (Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1981). . * Donna G. Cardamone, "The Debut of the Canzone Villanesca alla Napolitana". ''Studi Musicali'' 4 (1975): 65–75. * Donna G. Cardamone, "'Madrigali a Tre et Arie Napolitane' – A Typographical and Repertorial Study". ''Journal of the American Musicological Society'' 35, no. 3 (1982): 436–481. * Concetta Assenza, ''La canzonetta dal 1570 al 1615'' (Lucca: LIM, 1997). . {{Authority control Renaissance music Baroque music Italian music history Classical music styles